Requited Desire
by Princess Hinata Hyuga
Summary: Hinata is captured by the Akatsuki and Naruto gives his life to rescue her. Hinata saves him just in time, but his wounds are servere. Will Hinata's requited love be enough for Naruto to pull through? pairings: nxh please r&r!
1. Prologue

Requite Desire

Prologue

Hinata shot up with a short pant, sweat drops swelling on her forehead. Her luminescent saucer eyes shifted around uneasily around the campfire. Kiba and Shino were both still fast asleep, unaware of Hinata's loud breaths and the fear sweating down her skin. She knew it was just a nightmare, just all in her head. But it was too real to pass up; the last few in the Akatsuki had captured her and kept her ransom for Naruto to come rescue her. But when he came, he was killed.

Hinata shuddered at the thought as she silently stood up and passed the crackling fire and her snoring teammates. They were out and alone on their way back from a mission. The only member missing was Kurenai, who was on her own mission and rarely with them anymore. Shino, Kiba and her were on a mild assignment this week, one of the very few team assignments they get together lately. But all the same, she enjoyed their presence…but always knew something --or someone-- was missing. Rather, someone _she_ missed personally.

Naruto.

Shaking the nightmare and nostalgia she felt for Naruto, she strolled through a small patch of woods towards the rushing creek, her guard completely up and her eyes and ears on full alert. Just as she left the thicket and heard the flowing water, she looked up and was greeted by a muscular silhouette, pacing in front of the creek. The corners of her mouth creased downward. First a bad dream, now this? _'He doesn't see me yet,' _she assured herself, taking short, quiet steps backwards towards the woods. As she backed up, her foot caught on a twig and it snapped. The silhouette's neck shot around, piercing eyes looking directly at her. She was caught.


	2. Chapter 1

Requited Desire

Chapter One: Midnight Visitor

"Hinata?" The unusually calm and achingly familiar voice strolled towards Hinata's ears. Her cheeks immediately became flushed as she recognized the celestial, golden voice and shimmering blue eyes.

"N-Naruto?" Hinata stuttered, remaining where she was standing. Naruto took a few steps closer to her, her heart rate beginning to climb.

"What are you doing here?" He asked casually, as if it were completely normal to be walking around the outskirts of Konoha around one in the morning. "And why do you look so scared?" Naruto gently clasped his warm hand on Hinata's shoulder and she let out a small yelp in embarassment and put her head down in humiliation. "You look like you just saw a ghost," he ranted.

"I had a nightmare, that's all," she replied sheepishly, blush filled the rest of her cheeks. "What are you doing out here?" she asked. Naruto's lips pursed together and Hinata saw the slight glimmer of angst in his eyes.

Things pertaining to the Akatsuki had been on his mind the most lately. Too much was going on at once and he was in the middle of it…everyone in Konoha knew that, including Hinata.

"I just came out here to think, that's all," he let out a huffy chuckle to lighten the mood, and although Hinata was too shy to say much about it, she wasn't stupid.

"About the Akatsuki," she whispered to herself, finishing his sentence and hoping he hadn't heard her and get mad.

"Yeah," he stated. Hinata blushed a deeper pink just from knowing he was listening.

Hinata swallowed a dry lump in her throat and she looked down at her shuffling feet. Naruto was still Naruto, but tonight his bouncing personality seemed to glow just a little bit less. '_Now's your time, Hinata,' _she thought to herself, egging her ego up, _'just say something nice to him!' _

"I-I know you can do it," she mumbled shyly, her fingers uneasily playing with the zipper of her jacket. "You don't have to worry. You're stronger than they are. You're stronger than you think," she encouraged. Naruto let out a stiff chuckle and a small, cocky smile let loose on his lips.

"You know what, you're right," he responded softly, "thanks, Hinata," he playfully jabbed at her elbow and Hinata's face burst into a deep frenzy of red. Naruto slumped down onto the grass and patted the patch beside him, motioning Hinata to come sit. She gulped as the blood rushed to her head and she sat down next to him.

"They're strong, too, though," he went on, staring up at the beautiful, white full moon. "If I don't remember that, they'll beat me in the worst way. They could do anything to torture me, you know."

Hinata sighed deeply, wishing Naruto could only understand her deep infatuation for him. She wanted so badly to just wrap her arm around his and lean on his chest, comforting his racing mind. "You're troubled," she murmured to him, watching him look up at the calming moon. _'And I hate seeing you this way,' _she added in her mind, _'I'm not used to seeing you so troubled and I never want to ever again.'_

Naruto quickly whipped his neck around and faced Hinata, who was still gazing at him. She blushed and looked down at her feet.

"They could hurt the people I love. They could attack this village, my friends, my teammates," he explained, "you too, you know," he added, his eyes fierce with care and uncertainty.

Hinata breathed and licked her lips, breathing a little quicker to keep her nerves down.

"I'm going to head back to the village. I was just on a one-man mission," Naruto yawned and stretched back, falling onto the grass. "I dominated. Believe it!" He offered her a dazzling smile and thumbs up and Hinata's face got warmer. "I need sleep, though," Naruto hopped up onto his feet and extended his kind hand out towards the young Hyuga. Hinata hesitantly grabbed his hand and pulled herself up.

"See you tomorrow, Hinata," Naruto nonchalantly shoved his hands in his pockets and began walking away. Hinata bit her lip.

"Naruto!" She called sweetly. He quickly stopped walking and twisted around to face her.

"Yeah?" he smacked his lips together.

Hinata's lungs tightened up and she cupped her hands together over her heart. "Goodnight," she stammered, defeating herself.

"Night," he called, beginning to walk away again with one final yawn.

Hinata watched Naruto leave the area, her knees still weak and defiant. A soft, ginger smile lifted the creases of her lips at the thought of Naruto.

"You could've told him then, you know," a husky voice came towards her. Hinata looked the other way to find Kiba and Akamaru standing a few feet away. Kiba's mouth was sprinted upwards with a devilish smirk and the dog's mouth seemed to be mockingly smiling at her, too. He saw the blush get darker on her cheeks. "That you like him, I mean," he went on, "because I know you do."

"No I don't," she lied, her voice firm. Over the years, she had gotten a little more used to his company and became a little more braver to stand up for herself.

"You woke Akamaru up when you left camp," Kiba told her as she walked past her dodgy teammate and back to camp to sleep. Hinata said nothing else to him, her mouth dry.

As she fell back to the ground and shut her eyes for sleep, what she wanted more than ever was to disappear from the humiliation Kiba had bestowed on her. And in the morning, on her way back to Konoha, she couldn't wait to see Naruto.

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A/N: Thanks so much to those who reviewed. FYI: the last chapter was short because it was a prologue; my other's won't be, don't worry!

Please, please, PLEASE, review! I want to hear from you guys! Commentary? Questions? Ideas? Let me have 'em!


	3. Chapter 2

Requited Desire

Chapter Two: Different Feelings

It was early morning; the birds were chirping, the indifferent sun shining down, hovered by crisp morning air. Hinata, Shino and Kiba were strolling back to Konoha.

Naruto wasnt sure what made him suddenly wake up early that morning and race down to the front gates of the town, but he did and thought nothing of it.

"You're here early," a monotone, familiar voice called to Naruto, who was rubbing his chin and pondering his unusual activity that morning. Naruto popped out of his debate and looked over to see Shikamaru at the guard stand right outside the gate.

"You too," Naruto flashed a cocky smile as he walked over to his friend, "since when do you guard?" he asked casually.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Ask Tsunade," he replied ironically, stretching his arms behind his back.

"Hey, guys," Shikamaru and Naruto watched as Kiba and Akamaru raced towards them. Kiba smirked at his triumphant dog as Shikamaru patted him on the head. They exchanged 'good mornings' as Shino arrived and walked towards them, shortly followed by Hinata. For whatever inclined reason, Naruto left the circle of guys and sprinted towards Hinata. She quickly looked up from her pacing feet and bit her lip, holding back an embarrassed yelp.

"Hi, Hinata," Naruto greeted with a sweet smile. "Long time no see," he joked with a dodgy wink. Hinata blushed a light pink.

"Yeah," she responded quietly.

"So," Naruto whistled, "I was thinking about you this morning," he began nonchalantly. Hinata gulped and her face blushed beet red. Naruto paused, clasping his lips shut. He realized what he said could've been taken differently, and he lightly blushed, correcting himself, "About what you said to me, I mean," he explained, "telling me I was strong enough to beat the Akatsuki? It helped," he let out a cheesy smile, "so, thanks."

"Sure," Hinata murmured, staring at Naruto eyes. She realized she had never actually gazed in them like this before. Naruto cocked his brow and swished his hand in front of her face.

"You alright?" he asked steadily. Hinata's mouth dropped a centimeter or two and she quickly shook her head.

"I'll see you later," Hinata called anxiously, running away. Naruto twisted around and watched the young Hyuga race away, him very puzzled.

"She only acts that way around you," Kiba concluded, looking over at Naruto.

"Really?" Naruto asked, half of him disbelieving, the other half strangely hopeful. He didn't know why that got his blood running faster. Naruto didn't wait for Kiba's response and he robotically walked away towards home.

"One of _those _days," Naruto grumbled to himself, sliding back under the thin sheet on his bed and meshing his head with his pillow. He grumbled and cursed some more and designated to himself that although he should get out of bed and train or do something productive that day, he wasn't going to. He was tired, too tired to function. Instead, he shut his eyes and fell asleep.

"Hinata!" Naruto gasped awake, his eyes bulging wildly and scrambling around the room, his mouth gaping and chest pumping in and out vigorously. He looked around a little less anxious and noticed he was in the dark; no lights inside or out. "I slept all day?" he wondered aloud, popping his head out the open window. He looked back at his alarm clock: 12: 03 am. Naruto angrily threw his pillow over the neon green flashing numbers and turned his small lamp on. He cussed himself as he shoved his head between his knees and raked his fingers through his unkempt hair. "Just a dream, Naruto, it was all just a dream. The Akatsuki wouldnt just come and capture Hinata," he reassured himself.

Naruto let out a huff and walked to his refrigerator for some milk. After guzzling the rest of the carton, he slid his arm over his mouth and wiped away the milky residue on his lips and stared at the front door.

"Just to be sure," he grumbled, snatching his jacket and stumbling out the door.

__

'I'm not sure why I'm getting this feeling,'

Naruto thought, grinding his teeth together, '_but I'll trust itand I'll just go and make sure she's okay.'_

Naruto stealthily snuck into the Hyuga clans territory. Rarely --if any-- does he go there, and yet he found himself so easily navigating in. Just as he entered the area, he heard a crash.

__

'Caught!'

he thought alertly. Naruto looked above to the rooftop where three dark silhouettes were racing away. One seemed to have a body slung over his shoulder.

"N-Naruto!" The slung-over voice let out a grumbling screeched. Naruto snickered, memorizing the voice.

"Hinata!" He cried. Naruto leapt onto the rooftop, bound to chase the kidnapper until three, big bodies leapt in front. They were guards of the Hyuga clan. One was Neji Hyuga.

"Stop!" Naruto yelled, "It's not me!" Naruto jumped into the air, throwing a kunai at the theft-ridden people getting farther and farther away "They kidnapped Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed, eyes shaking and scoping the area. They were gone.

"That's how it happened," Naruto quipped nonchalantly. Sakura looked over at her teammate with a smirk. "I had a feeling Hinata would be captured, I checked, I was right."

"Alright," Tsunade replied, incredibly peeved she was woken up at two in the morning, but understanding the lethal situation at hand. "Then this is a serious manner," she stated blindly, still having a cloudy, tired mind. "Any ideas as to who took her? What were the crooks wearing? Did they talk, did they attack back--"

"The Akatsuki," Naruto stated, staring out the window behind Tsunade's head. When he was telling the Hyuga nin and Sakura and Tsunade his side of the story, he knew he wasn't as truthful and as blunt as he should've been. The truth was: he was a little nervous --and maybe even guilty-- about it. The last thing he wanted to do was seed himself out. "The Akatsuki captured her."

Tsunade let out an interesting-sounding huff. "Then we will form a small, elite team to--"

"In all due respect, Hokage," Naruto curtailed, "I'd like to do this on my own." Sakura and Neji looked over at the boy, defiant and quizzical. "This is my fault and I want to set it right on my own terms."

"This is the _Akatsuki,"_ Sakura reminded, "this is obviously a ransom to get you to go after her so they'll destroy you. It's too dangerous to risk it!" Naruto looked over at his worrisome teammate. Although Sakura was using her headstrong expression and tone of voice, Naruto could see through it. She was concerned.

She should be.

Naruto looked at the outline of Sakura's face for a long time, until he began seeing Hinata standing next to him instead. He chomped down on the inside of his cheek and looked over at Neji and the other Hyuga's behind him, but that only made it worse.

"Please, Hokage," Naruto pleaded, trying to keep his frantic voice as calm as possible, "this is my mission. I can do this," Naruto thought back to his and Hinatas conversation, "I'm strong enough to beat them. I know it." A small, weak smile spread onto his face, and then a big, cocky grin. Tsunade smirked in reply.

"I think Sakura is right," Tsunade told him. His smile quickly became a frown and Sakura competed it with her smug smile. "They're holding her for ransom for you to come. It's a complete trap."

"Thank you," Sakura cut in, "Neji and I should go, too." Sakura looked over at the Hyuga with hopeful eyes and got a nod of acceptance in return.

"That's right, you should," Tsunade agreed.

"What! But-" Naruto argued.

"But you won't," Tsunade went on. Naruto pursed his lips, Sakura did the same. "Naruto," she faced him, her eyes steady, "you can do this on your own. I know it."

"Thank you," Naruto bowed in respect before heading towards the door.

It was go time.

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A/N: There you go; I hope it was long enough. Next chapter: time to find the Akatsuki!

P.s- sorry if there are some grammatical errors; I had to use a different uploader system and add the grammar parts in after. It was weird; hope I got them all, but sorry if I didn't.

PLEASE review! (:


	4. Chapter 3

Requited Desire

Chapter Three: Sighting the Mark

Naruto leapt around, eyes crazily scrambling around for an entrance.

Normally, the thing to do was be sneaky and stealthy. To creep up on the prey and attack when they're defense is down. But this was the Akatsuki; they knew he was coming and either way, their guard was never down. They were always on defense and high alert. The only way to fight this was to be everything Naruto was and not hold back an inch of anything. Now, it was crunch time and Naruto was beginning to get impatient with himself.

"Hinata!" He called, his voice booming on the top of his lungs. He had followed where they left off immediately, pacing behind the Akatsuki's trail. And now he was standing at their entrance, like a giant steel gate keeping him from Hinata. "Hinata!" He screamed again. Naruto whipped out a kunai and flipped it around his nimble fingers. "Akatsuki!" He barked through gritted teeth. "Come out and fight!"

"Naruto watch out--" a loud slap over Hinata's mouth sounded and Naruto waned around, three devilish figures behind him, Madara with his hand over Hinata's mouth.

"Let her go," Naruto warned cautiously, "you're not going to hurt her as long as I'm here."

"You're right, we aren't," one responded. Naruto was so focused on Hinata he didn't know --or care-- which has replied. Hinata's eyes were wide and sticky, shaking as she looked on at Naruto with double vision. There was a deep cut on her forehead and her whole body was limp. It was obvious to Naruto: she had tried to fight to get away, and she lost by three-against-one. The dry blood on her forehead dripped down from the cut told Naruto it was more than recent. "But we could hurt her -- no, we could kill her." Naruto felt the words drain down his ears and stab him in the chest, his heart strings pulled hard. Naruto swallowed, trying to shake the feeling.

"Don't you dare," Naruto clutched the kunai in his hand harder until the shap point's edge met Naruto rough skin and pierced through it. He barely felt it.

"We don't have to do this you know," Kisame spoke up. Naruto kept his eyes glued on him like it was his only hope. "You know what we want from you. Give it to us, and your lady friend over here won't have to suffer for you." Kisame's hand reached behind him and captured the swords handle. "So how 'bout it?"

Naruto sneered. "How about not." Naruto's fingers went into a frenzy and five shadow clones jumped out, kunai's in their hands and feet in a battle formation. "Let her go and we'll fight to end this."

"You don't understand," Madara curtailed the conversation. His hand slipped down from Hinata's mouth and tightened slightly on her neck. Hinata let out a shifty groan, but couldn't shake his grip. "We aren't here to fight, we're here to kill. Make any fighting move and I'll be forced to kill her." His voice was a mixture of casual and husky, it made the hair on the back of Naruto's neck stand on end. "Surrender or she dies."

"I'll never surrender to you idiots," he growled in response. There was a sly chuckle and a kunai was pressed against Hinata's neck. A single drop of blood shed from her neck and she let out a closed up yelp. "Hinata! Fight!" Naruto cried. Hinata stiffly shook her head in reply, no voice came out of her gasping mouth. Her eyes were wider than before and were beginning to get watery.

"She's useless and defenseless against us," Kisame reported. "You're outnumbed and out negotiated," he said, "surrender or die!"

Naruto nibbled on the inside of his lip, his brow furrowed. He looked around at the three Akatsuki members. Although their guards were up, none were in a battle position. If he were to attack, they'd dodge him, but never send a blow back.

Naruto took a step forward and Madara's knife hit Hinata's skin again. He tapped the edge on her neck as a warning and reminder. He sighed in dismay, and returned to his normal stance. Truth was: they had the upper hand. They could kill Hinata in an instant and he'd be blindsighted and too far and slow to do anything in good timing.

"Nine-tail," one let out. Naruto looked up from his feet, his mind still running blue prints. "Now or never."

Naruto exhaled sharply and tightened then loosened his fists, then again. "Now or never," he repeated.

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A/N: Hi everyone! I know, it's sort of a short chapter. I promise the next one will be longer! They plot is slightly loose and holey, but whatever. I hope you liked it anyway.

PLEASE review!


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